The bird drive

[Lifeofbeau]

What all do you look for in a lab to see if the drive is there as far as birds? This is my first lab after growing up with pointers all my life, but with my beau everytime he see ducks or birds on our walks he will creep up on them keeping a low profile, then just sit and watch their movements until they fly off. Is this curiousness a good sign or just an 11 week pup being a pup?

[TuMicks]

Absolutely!

He likes birds. You are going to be hunting with him? Teaching a retriever his job is fun and rewarding. (Even for folks like me who don't hunt.)

What are your goals for him?

[Labradorks]

I would say to look at the parents, but then again, both of my dogs have it to one degree or another, and their parents' drive is still up in the air as they only did conformation, and a tiny bit of lower level obedience/rally.

If you want to get serious about it, or even do hunt stuff for fun like with a group or just get your WC, I'd recommend going to a picnic test (a practice test that is set up similar to the real thing) and see how he does with gunfire and if it gets him "going". Also, see how you like the atmosphere, people, etc. You'll be given loads of advice from several people that may or may not differ. Not a bad thing, but it can cause confusion! Kinda like a message board.

From that point, I'd get aligned with well-regarded a trainer, since you're new, and they will go through some exercises with you and see how interested he is and what you can work on, if anything. For Linus, the trainer threw a pigeon with her flight feathers clipped and we watched to see how he would respond. There are a quite a few things a dog might do next: ignore it, be afraid of it, pee on it, kill it, take off with it, crush it, or (hopefully) pick it up and bring it back without crushing it.

Meanwhile, you can get duck wings online and play with your dog with them, fetch bumpers, and I like to do shaping exercises that help your puppy learn to problem solve, as it carries over well into the field. Also, obedience. Like a good heel and a solid stay.

I'm sure there are books that someone else can point you to.

[Lifeofbeau]

I do such little hunting that Id be more interested in just training him to have the ability to do it in case I ever decide to bring him along. I'm sure its something you'd have to train then keep up on so we both may gain new hobbies out of it.

For the first time he is starting to chase a tennis ball and 'somewhat' run back to me, but at 11 week we've mainly just been working on sit and lay down along with potty training.

[TuMicks]

Yes... nothing works in retrieving unless the obedience is solid. So that is where you want to begin.

One thing you can do to stimulate the retrieve (make it fun) is toss the toy. As soon as the pup picks it up and looks at you, you begin running away clapping your hands and making happy noises. When pup runs past you, you take the toy and make a HUGE fuss about how clever he is and how much fun it is to retrieve-to-hand.

Maybe you can make the toy-chase game his reward for being a good little obedience dog.

[windycanyon]

I'm w/ TuMicks. It sounds like he's quite interested. Why not try to join up w/ a club so you can put him on live pigeons? Once they have that exposure, they never forget it, that's why most of us who breed all purpose labs test our pups on pigeons before they leave. It gives me a general feeling of who is more outgoing/ confident in my evaluation procedure if nothing else. Hunt tests are a LOT of fun, and I've found to be a nice compliment to my obedience training those first couple years while they need to get the "ya yas" out.

[TuMicks]

Oh, yes. That was the other thing I meant to mention. Join a retriever club. Beware, however... it can be addicting.

WindyCanyon... when are they past that "Yah-yah" stage???? (I think RD might be developmentally delayed... like for the rest of her life! Oh, well. )

[windycanyon]

LOL, I'm still waiting on one of my 6.5 yr old girls too. Her 14 mo old daughter is FAR steadier on birds than she probably ever will be despite having a CDX that she earned at barely 2. Ah well, she has fun.

[IRISHWISTLER]

Aye Mate,
Generally speaking, a pup from selective breeding for field performance will exhibit signs of "bird drive" very early on and there is much that can be done to further enhance it.


TTF CRAIGHORN KIFFIN TRAD JH at age 11 weeks. TRAD has been a very "bird drivren" pup since early on in his development and the signs were quite apparent.

DO align yeself with a retriever club or a competent trainer if at all possible.

DO NOT make your pup's first exposure to gunfire a sudden one at a "picnic test" or any other venue. Introduction to gunfire should be done very progressively in increments starting with low volume at significant distance from the pup and increasing in volume while decreasing in distance, but slowly over time. Such exposure should also be done while the pup is distracted or focused on a positive activity he / she really enjoys.

Many a potentially great gundog prospect pup has been ruined by improper imtroduction to gunfire.

Good luck with ye pup.

Cheers,
Irishwhistler

[Labradorks]

DO NOT make your pup's first exposure to gunfire a sudden one at a "picnic test" or any other venue. Introduction to gunfire should be done very progressively in increments starting with low volume at significant distance from the pup and increasing in volume while decreasing in distance, but slowly over time. Such exposure should also be done while the pup is distracted or focused on a positive activity he / she really enjoys.

Many a potentially great gundog prospect pup has been ruined by improper imtroduction to gunfire.

This is interesting... Though my personal experience in seeing this has been relatively limited, I've only witnessed the opposite affect. I'd say I've only seen a dozen or so young dogs/puppies introduced to gunfire through showing up at a picnic or WC or field day. In each case, the dog either didn't notice the gunfire or figured out quickly that it meant something good and was lunging toward the sound by the end of their time at the event. I'm assuming (and hoping) that if the dog is sensitive to sound, the owners would have introduced them differently. I thought that being comfortable with the sound of gunfire was part of the well-bred Lab's temperament.